Mukesh Kumar, who finished tied-fourth in the Tata Open in Jamshedpur on Sunday, jumped to the top spot on the Order of Merit list with a season's earnings of Rs 5,61,690 from 10 starts.
The four-time `Champion golfer of the year' moved to his familiar position for the first time in the current season with nine top-ten finishes including two victories after the 11th leg of the Hero Honda Golf Tour.
However, with almost half the season yet to be completed, Mukesh, for the first time faces a threat of relinquishing his title as SSP Chowrasia, the winner of the last two events -- the NGC Open and the Tata Open -- made big strides to jump to the second position in just a couple of weeks.
The diminutive pro from Kolkata is currently in second position with a total of Rs 5,52,765 from 11 starts. He has as many as six top-ten finishes and is a mere Rs 8,925 short of Mukesh's earnings.
Also in fray is `Rookie of the year' 2002-03 season Ashok Kumar, who finished second in the Tata Open after a play-off. The 21-year-old trails Chowrasia by just Rs 155. The Delhi lad has amassed Rs 5,52,610 after taking part in 10 out of 11 events and has seven top ten finishes including a victory - the SERVO Masters 2003 in Digboi.
Digvijay Singh, who skipped the Tata Open and went on to play in Japan, was pushed to the fourth spot after being the leader for two weeks. His season's earnings stand at Rs 5,16,323 from nine events. He also has seven top-ten finishes to his credit.
Feroz Ali, who was unlucky to finish third after leading the tournament for most part at the Tata Open, jumped to the seventh position from 12th last week. He now has pocketed Rs 3,67,240 from 10 tournaments and also has a victory (Cotton City Open 2003) to his credit.
Amongst the rookies, Sandeep Syal leads the race with earnings of Rs 1,30,618 while Gurbaaz Mann, who missed the cut in his last start at the Tata Open, is second with a total of Rs 1,15,400. Sandeep who has two top-ten finishes to his credit is in 26th position overall while the Chandigarh lad Gurbaaz is in 31st position.
Order of merit 2003-04 season (after 11 events): Mukesh Kumar (Rs 5,61,690); SSP Chowrasia (Rs 5,52,765); Ashok Kumar (Rs 5,52,610); Digvijay Singh (Rs 5,16,323); Arjun Singh (Rs 4,81,500); US Mundy (Rs 3,98,362); Feroz Ali (Rs 3,67,240); Pappan (Rs 3,64,640); Rafiq Ali (Rs 3,60,032); Vijay Kumar (Rs 3,59,628); Gaurav Ghei (Rs 3,16,380).